which laft they conflderas a leading principle n £ agricultural fldll-. The-
plough .is Ample, and managed by one perfon, having but- one handle,
and no coulter, which is deemed unneceffary, as there..is no lea ground,
and confequently no turf to cut through, in China. The buibaudry is
Angularly neat, and not a weed is to be feen. .
I n dcfcribing the rivers of this great empire-two are well known to
deferve particular attention, namely the Hoan-ho and the Kian-ku.
The fources of the Arft, alfo called the Yellow river, from the quantity,
of mud which it devolves, are two lakes, fltu'ated amongft the mountains
of th a t part of- Tatary known by the name of Kokonor. They lie j
about the 35° of north latitude, and 190 of longitude, to the weftward
of Pekin, being, according to Arrowfmith’s map of AAa, about 97°
eaft from Greenwich.3 This prodigious river, is extremely winding and
devious in its courfe, purfuing a. N. E. direftion to about the 42^.0'f:
north latitude, and after running due eaft it fuddenly bends fouth'to a
latitude nearly parallel to its fource,'and pùrfues an eàfteriy’dtreiftioh ’ tiU;
it be loft in the Y eU ow T e a . ' Its comparative courfe may be ëlFimaféd
at about 1800 Britiflj miles; or according to thë'late émbaffy,
At about 70 miles froin the Tea, Whei*; it is croffed bÿ the impérial;
canal, the breadth is little more than a mile,7 and the depth only about
nine or ten feet ; but the velocity ecpials about feven or eight miles itfc
the hour.* " *
The Kian-ku riles in the vicinity of the fources o f the Hoan-ho *
but according to the received accounts and maps about. 2 00 miles further
to the weft, and winds nearly as far to the fouth as the Hoan-ho
does to the north. After wafhing the walls of Nankin it enters the-
fea about 100 miles to the fouth of the Hoan-ho. The Kian-ku is known-
by various names through its long progrefs ; and near its fource is called-
by the Eluts Porticho orPetchou ; the courfe is about equal to that of the
former, thefe two rivers being confidered as the longeft on the face of the.
g lo b e th e y certainly equal, if they do not exceed, the famous river of the
Amazons in South America, and the majeftic courfe' of the Ganges-does
3 Staunton, in. 232 ; but theJlarry fountains are more to the weft. See the atlas and defcrip-
tion by Du Halde.
I Ih.iü. 234.
not
notexterid half the length, ' In the late embaffy the length' of the Kian- Rivtas.
ku is eftimated at about 22óo: miles ; and it is obferved that thefe two
great Chinefe rivers, taking:their fource from the fame mountains,- and
palTing almoft clofe to each other, in a particular fpot, afteiwards fepa- -
rate from each other to the diftance of 15° of latitude, or about. 1050
Britilh miles ; and Anally difcharge themfelves into the fame fea, comprehending
a track» oft land of about -rop'o miles in -length, which tfléy
greatly tcoafcribute tQ fertilize. -
Torfthefei- grand- rivers maKy important ftreams are .tributary; but it'
Tyeuld' be infinite -to. ennmfer-afce-tfte various waters which enrich and
-adorn this wide empire. TheEu-hotin the north ; the-Hoan-ho, the
Lo,-kiang, the>Kan-kiarig, the Ouhkiang, and ofhefs, in the centre j^-and
'the É?óriTMiangi- Pe-kiang, and others' in-the fout-hj'Ure chiefly nötéd by
,-gèeg-rftphéts,' who are more inclined ' to ’ftllAtheir maps withf*nath4s of
towns and villages', than to difcrimmate the lafting features o f nature.
* Norris China deftitute o f noble :and-extenflve lakes. Du Halde in- Lakss.'
;forms us that the -lake of Tqng-tint-hou, in the province of Hou-quang,
is more ithan So leagues in-circumference. That of Hong-fl-hou is
partly in th e province-öf Kiang-naö, and partly in an adjoining di-
vifibn o f the empire. That o f Poyaflg-hou, in the province of Kiatig-
Si, is about thirty leagues in circumference, and is formed by the confluence
of four rivers as large as the Loire : this laft is of dangerous
navigation. There is alfo a conflderable lake, not far to the fouth of
Nankin, called Tai-hou; and the map of D ’Anville indicates a number
of fmaller lakes, chiefly in the eaftern and central partsjof China. Some
of thefe, lakes are defcribed in the late einbafly, as thofe - of Paoyng,
Tai-hou, • and Sec-hoo.- - Upon a lake -near the Imperial canal were obferved
thoufands of fmall boats and rafts, conftru&ed for a lingular
fpecies of flihery., “ .On each *boat, or raft, are ten or a dozen birds,
which, at a flgnal from the owner, plunge into the water; and it is
aftomftung to -fee the enormous flze of fllh with which they return,
grafped within their bills. They appeared to be fo well- trained' that it
did not require either ring -or cord -about their throats, to prevent them
from fwallowing any portion of thèir prey, except what the matter was
pleafed to return to them, for encouragement. ïuid food. The.boat ufed